Tom's roles have included time as a writer, editor, journalist, videographer, presenter, educator, web designer, layout artist, and public relations executive. Since 2006, he's freelanced for publications and private clients including the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Apple, Nature.com, and the San Francisco Chronicle. A frequent traveler, he moved from his native US to the Netherlands in 2016. Connect with him at http://tomgeller.com.
Whether you're starting an online business or a brick-and-mortar model, figuring out how to start a business takes time and research. Starting a business involves planning, making important financial decisions and completing a series of legal activities, such as choosing a business structure. Before you can decide how you want to structure your business, you need to know what your options are. Each business structure has advantages and disadvantages, and choosing the right one depends on your unique situation. The most common ways to organize a business include, limited liability company (LLC), corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, and sole proprietorship. LLCs are a popular choice for small business owners because they offer personal liability protection with great tax and management flexibility, while incorporating a business protects your personal assets and is preferred by outside investors. LegalZoom has all the resources you need to start a business and maintain it. Whether you want to form an LLC or trademark a business name, LegalZoom offers services to help you get it done fast and affordably. LegalZoom can also help you obtain the necessary business licenses and permits for your new business. Get the peace of mind you need when starting a business by letting LegalZoom take care of the details while you focus on the parts of your business that matter to you the most.
Loans backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) are a favorite of franchisees, since they tend to have higher limits and lower rates than commercial loans. However, SBA loans come with strict requirements, including the need to prove that you don’t have the ability to obtain a loan from traditional lenders. Partner institutions disburse and administer the loans with SBA approval and application requirements tend to be quite extensive.
It’s useful to come up with a business plan to think through what you want to do for the development of the product or service, marketing, financial projections, and more. And you should then get input from trusted business and finance advisors. But don’t go overboard with a 50-page business plan. In reality, many startups have to deviate from their plan as the business develops.

Loans backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) are a favorite of franchisees, since they tend to have higher limits and lower rates than commercial loans. However, SBA loans come with strict requirements, including the need to prove that you don’t have the ability to obtain a loan from traditional lenders. Partner institutions disburse and administer the loans with SBA approval and application requirements tend to be quite extensive.

A lender is primarily concerned about the ability of the borrower to repay the loan. To the extent that a security interest can be given to the lender on company assets (company equipment, property, accounts receivable, etc.), the borrower should be able to increase its chances of getting a loan on favorable terms. Some lenders may insist upon the personal guarantee of the principal owner of the business. That is best avoided if possible as it puts the owner’s personal assets, and not just the business assets, at risk.

Able Lending will manage and administer your process of raising 100% of your needed funds from friends and family. They make it easy for you to look professional, be charged your agreed upon interest rate with each individual investor, and they make sure everyone gets paid on time. They do all of this for a single origination fee of 1-3% at the time of funding.
Fundation offers an 18-month line of credit in addition to 1 – 4-year installment loans. The time from application to funding generally takes between 2 and 7 days. All in all, Fundation is a smart choice for established businesses that don’t want to wait months to get a franchise loan approval. Read our Fundation review to find out why we rate this alternative franchise lender 5/5 stars.
After all, small-business loans can help you get from A to B, providing vital capital to jumpstart your business expansion. Yet these loans are also notoriously difficult to get; and, should anything go south with your business, you may lose the collateral you put up for the loan. What's more, to qualify for most bank loans, your company will need to have been in business for at least one to two years and meet annual revenue requirements -- to name just some of the criteria required.
You can get an approval decision right after you submit your franchise financing application. Our automated decision-making technology will review your application, and we will let you know if you qualify immediately thereafter. There is no need to waste time gathering up a bunch of your financial statements and copies of your tax returns. You will be happy to know that we look at all credit scores. In addition, you have a limited credit history and still be can a good candidate.
Tom's roles have included time as a writer, editor, journalist, videographer, presenter, educator, web designer, layout artist, and public relations executive. Since 2006, he's freelanced for publications and private clients including the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Apple, Nature.com, and the San Francisco Chronicle. A frequent traveler, he moved from his native US to the Netherlands in 2016. Connect with him at http://tomgeller.com.

“My credit is very strong and I owned my house outright. So when I realized the SBA loan would take too long, I decided to go to my personal bank and apply for a HELOC. The whole process took less than two weeks, the interest rates were great, and I never looked back. I was even allowed to use the HELOC for my franchise fee, which other financing wouldn’t allow.”

Venture capitalists tend to start investing at $1,000,000, and they prefer to invest in high-growth and high-risk businesses. High-growth investment means the venture capital investor would see a return in 3-7 years by selling the company or going public. Venture capitalists tend to require a large amount of equity in your business, including a position on the board of directors.

Our course starts at the very beginning with setting up QuickBooks for your business. We cover how to record your income and expenses, how to manage bank and credit card transactions and how to run financial statements. There are a total of 39 tutorials in our QuickBooks course spanning seven lessons. Each lesson has been broken down into bite-sized tutorials. Each QuickBooks tutorial includes a video where we demonstrate the concepts presented in each lesson.

When you do a ROBS, you basically sponsor a retirement plan under your franchise, rollover funds from your personal retirement plan to the company retirement plan, and use those funds to buy shares of stock in your business. The sale of stock creates the capital needed to start or buy a new franchise or recapitalize an existing franchise. Read our in-depth guide on ROBS to learn more about how it works.

The idea here is to get clear about what’s important to you, where exactly your passion lies, and what the point of the whole venture is. As a small business owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae of paying bills, writing the website copy, changing the website copy several dozen times, filling out tax forms, and so on. Don’t lose sight of the big picture.
Our franchise clients have been recommended a variety of business funding programs such as merchant cash advances or short-term working capital loans. Both options can allow you to cover a massive upfront cost, increase staff, launch a local ad campaign or pay a series of coinciding bills. Since profit margins for restaurants and retailers are already on the low side, we can provide the means to make important payments ahead of schedule and lessen the blow from weekly deductions.
Dana is a founding partner of TechLaw, LLP, where his practice focuses on trademark prosecution and licensing, copyrights, and business transactions. He is also adjunct professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he has taught IP Survey, and helped launch the IP Law Clinic. His expertise includes a broad base of intellectual property law that covers copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and international intellectual property. Dana has filed, managed, and prosecuted thousands of trademarks over the course of his law practice career. He has represented clients in numerous trademark infringement actions, as well as cancellations, oppositions, and appeals before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
There are plenty of resources that business owners can refer to when putting together their loan applications. The Small Business Administration, for example, provides a highly detailed loan application checklist for borrowers. Using these resources can decrease your likelihood of coming across as disorganized or unprepared. [See Related Story: Applying for a Small Business Loan? Here's What You'll Need]
He has been on the full-time faculty at Rice University, the University of Arizona, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He has also been an Executive MBA lecturer at HKUST, SKOLKOVO (Moscow School of Management), China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), the University of Illinois (US), and INSEAD (Singapore and Paris). Professor Kay Stice has received awards for high-quality teaching at Arizona, Rice, and Brigham Young University, and he was twice selected as one of the top ten lecturers at HKUST.
SBA loans are government-guaranteed loans with long repayment terms and low interest rates. There are many different types of SBA loans, but the most popular SBA loans are 7a loans and 504 loans. An SBA 7(a) loan can be used for working capital (marketing, staffing, etc), equipment, or for commercial real estate. The SBA 504 loan is only for commercial real estate and fixed equipment. Franchises are often a great fit for SBA loans, because of the SBA’s policy goals to help build small businesses to grow the economy.
It’s often easier to get started with a franchise compared to an independent business because a franchise comes with a proven concept, brand recognition, and customer base. Although the success rates of individual franchises vary widely, as a whole, franchises perform better than independent businesses in the long run. According to a report by the International Franchise Association, about 12,000 franchises open their doors every year!
The government-guaranteed SBA loan program works with banks to offer low interest rates and long-term repayment. But the process is time-consuming, and the requirements are strict. Only those with good personal credit (690 or higher, although some SBA lenders may have lower score requirements), strong business finances and the flexibility to wait for funding should apply.
At the early stages of your startup, you will likely want to have a small employee team to minimize expenses. A good way to fill in for specialized expertise is to use freelancers or consultants. That way, you avoid taking on employee costs and benefits payments. And there are a variety of sites that can help you access freelancers, such as Freelancer.com, Guru.com, and Upwork.com.
However, despite the tendency of commercial banks to favor franchise businesses, you are still subject to the bank's underwriting and lending policies. The bank still has to review your net worth and credit history to determine whether you can pay back the loan advanced to your business. In some cases, you may also have to provide collateral to secure your business loan.
If you do decide you’re going to need space, consider the number of employees you’re going to need and the equipment that will fill the space—chairs, photocopying machines, a fridge, a coffee machine, a reception area, a meeting room, and so on. Furthermore, how quickly do you expect to grow? If rapid growth is in the books, rent a space where there is room for growth and so that you don’t have to change your business address.
Guidant is our recommended ROBS provider. Guidant has helped over 10,000 businesses and facilitated over $3 billion in small business financing since 2003. They are also the only ROBS firm we know of which guarantees access to outside independent counsel during the ROBS setup process, which can help you objectively evaluate if ROBS is a good decision for the franchise you are buying.

This will include choosing and registering your business name and choosing a business structure. Many small business startups will choose between a sole-proprietorship, a partnership, and a limited liability company. However, you can also start a corporation or a non-profit company. Each of these structures will have different pros and cons and be treated differently when it comes time to file taxes.

Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. SBA 7(a) loans have longer repayment terms and lower down-payments than most conventional bank loans, and can be used for the purchase of owner-occupied real estate, business acquisition, equipment, or working capital. Wells Fargo also offers the SBA 504 program for larger, fixed asset purchases or construction.
1. Understand how credit works. There is such a thing as a business credit score, which factors in things like whether your business makes late payments or is in debt. Be sure to also remember that as a business owner, you basically are the credit representative of your company. Your personal credit score, factoring in things from credit cards to car payments, is a big factor when a bank is deciding whether or not to lend. Don’t lose heart; there are positive things you can do to build up credit.